Canada - Lucas Fowler, Chynna Deese, and Leonard Dyck, all murdered, Alaska Hwy, BC, Jul 2019 #17

[CinNC]

Huh I learn something new on here everyday!

I guess it makes sense with the climate, though. Probably be too cold that far north for the nasty little bloodsuckers.

And I'd rather deal with the ticks, truthfully. The devil you know. . . .

We lived in a rural part of West Central Wisconsin for 19 years. My husband farmed for his entire life and I did too after we got married. In rural parts of the upper Midwest, the bugs that thrive due to all of the agriculture will ruin the paint job on a car. In the Summertime, if you don't wash the front of your car every few days with high water pressure, the splattered bug "juice" will literally eat through the paint. My husband came home twice with bats wedged in his front grill. And that's only as far north as Wisconsin!!

 

[Valiant]

As to why a parent may not be involved in a child's life, it's not always because a custody agreement or child services prevents it.
Sometimes a new romantic partner is much more interesting than a child from an old relationship.
Sometimes a parent may feel they have nothing to offer the child.
Sometimes the "grief" given by others involved makes it too much of a hassle.
I'm sure it's much more common for a father to become estranged than a mother. Until the absent parent states why they remained away (if they are even honest with themselves about why) all we can do is guess.

 

[SnooperDuper]

As to why a parent may not be involved in a child's life, it's not always because a custody agreement or child services prevents it.
Sometimes a new romantic partner is much more interesting than a child from an old relationship.
Sometimes a parent may feel they have nothing to offer the child.
Sometimes the "grief" given by others involved makes it too much of a hassle.
I'm sure it's much more common for a father to become estranged than a mother. Until the absent parent states why they remained away (if they are even honest with themselves about why) all we can do is guess.

I think AS was obsessed with his (bad) relationship with his ex and less concerned about his relationship with his son, as seen by his actions. He seemed to leave all the nurturing responsibility up to his ex-partner and take no responsibility for providing the same himself.

 

[JudgeJudi]

I cannot seem to link the MSM reports at the moment, but all reports seem to indicate the truck was found "burning", present tense.

The news reports do not say "burnt", past tense.

To me that says it was discovered while still burning. JMO

The RCMP is searching for Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, after their car was found burning on the side of Highway 37 on Friday.

Canada murders: A slain couple, a mystery corpse and two missing teens stoke fears - CNN

 

[Moriarty]

That co-op store in Meadow lake wasn't too easy to find, as it doesn't seem to show up in major search engines. In case anyone is wondering precisely where it is, it's here;
Google Maps
If you look in the reflection as the suspects exit the door (in the meadow lake vid), you see the building across the street (still has the same paint job).

I'd love to know what those two were looking for in that hardware store. They went down an aisle marked "seasonal" but I can't make out what sort of items were actually on the aisle. K did seem to be looking for something, and they seemed to know where they were going (maybe they'd asked as they entered?).

Thanks for posting this! I had thought they stopped at the Co-op gas station/convenience store along Highway 55 in Meadow Lake, but I didn't actually look at the StreetView and didn't realize there was this larger store along #4.

I have a secondary interest in the route these two may have taken to get to Gillam. I thought they probably came along 55 from Cold Lake, but if they headed south along 4 as they came into Meadow Lake instead of continuing along 55, I'm wondering if they kept going south now and then took 3 across to Prince Albert. I know it doesn't really matter which route they took, and we know where the ended...but I'm curious as to whether they randomly wandered around north and south without a plan or route other than to run eastwards, or they had a clear plan to get to somewhere near Gillam and took the shortest route. Why go to that Co-op when a hardware store and multiple gas stations and a 7-11 are visible east along 55 from the corner of 55 and 4?

Also, I'm surprised we haven't heard of other gas stations coming forward claiming the two had stopped there. By everything I can find, that Rav4 could go approx. 750 km on a full tank. They must have stopped a few times from Dease Lake and at least once between Meadow Lake and Split Lake. I'm simply curious, but I'd love to see any of that security cam footage...were they as cool at every stop as they seem to be at this Co-op? The video from the gas station of Lucas and Chynna's last stop was heartbreaking to watch and really brought to life who these two were...especially that hug.

What might any video of BS and KM show us? Did they go about their business getting gas or did they exchange any words? Were they haggard and tired or clean and sharp-looking?

Just curious. It doesn't change anything that happened but might give some insight into what these two thought they were doing...

 

[musicaljoke]

https://www.terracestandard.com/news/body-burning-truck-found-near-dease-lake/

Truck still burning when found.

Awh, that make a difference for sure! I took a moment to check the RCMP news alert and you are correct, the vehicle was still burning.

RCMP in British Columbia - Vehicle fire near Dease Lake BC, leads to discovery of deceased male

 

[MistyWaters]

The Province of B.C. is well known for forest fires every summer. Last year they were dealing with 100s at one time and many parts of B.C. and Alberta, as the heavy smoke blew west, were covered in a smoky haze for weeks.

Anyone who burns a truck in the bush surely is aware of its potential to start a forest fire especially if gas or propane causes an explosion. My opinion only, this was their plan, to create a major forest fire leaving uncertainty if their bodies were still inside the camper.

Maybe just a coincidence, perhaps something they weren’t aware of, this article is dated May 31, 2019.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/brit...l-camp-as-northwest-fire-risk-soars-1.5157388
“Wildfire crews are arriving in northwestern British Columbia as drought grips the region and the fire danger soars along with the temperature.

The B.C. Wildfire Service is setting up a 150-person camp in the Dease Lake area, not in response to any specific blaze, but because the service expects potential new wildfire activity with the parched conditions.

A statement from the service says the camp will house firefighters ready to respond to any incident, while a team that specializes in overseeing wildfire management has also been sent to Dease Lake...”

 

[Gina20]

Here is the definitive "burning", "aflame", "fire" link about the truck. Not sure why this is not clear again, but it was afire when found. They responded to a vehicle fire.

Truck found on fire near Dease Lake, B.C., followed by discovery of dead male

And this: "No connection has been stated or implied between what was discovered at Dease Lake and the two dead tourists found on the Alaska Highway near Liard Hot Springs on July 15."

 

[musicaljoke]

https://www.terracestandard.com/news/body-burning-truck-found-near-dease-lake/

Truck still burning when found.

I'm not quite ready to give up on the haircuts, although I agree that the timing is impossible if the suspects were on the scene of their camper-truck fire.

There have been questions raise about why they hung out in Northern BC for so long after murdering the two young people, and then suddenly they are seen in Meadow Lake by two different sets of people.

Knowing that fires in BC are closely watched, is it likely that they used an incendiary device to set fire to the truck?

 

[MistyWaters]

BC map of forest fires -
Operations Dashboard for ArcGIS

Just a thought. I wonder how BC Wildfire Services spot forest fires? Sometimes fires are started by lightening in areas that are totally uninhabited.

I bet they utilize satellite imagery.

“Satellites send digital image data in several spectral bands to receiving stations on earth. These systems use multi-spectral scanners to collect data...”
Satellite Imagery - Province of British Columbia

Wouldn’t that be something, if further review of satellite imagery determined two people walking from the burning truck and camper and then driving away in LDs RAV4?

 

[FactFinder3000]

Here is the definitive "burning", "aflame", "fire" link about the truck. Not sure why this is not clear again, but it was afire when found. They responded to a vehicle fire.

Truck found on fire near Dease Lake, B.C., followed by discovery of dead male

And this: "No connection has been stated or implied between what was discovered at Dease Lake and the two dead tourists found on the Alaska Highway near Liard Hot Springs on July 15."

For me the most reliable source is always going to be the RCMP news release. It's interesting to me how the RCMP's "at this time it is unclear if these two scenes are related" got turned into "no connection has been stated or implied" in this article.

 

[Optics]

(Hi, first post ever!!) while it would be an interesting piece of uncovered information — would potentially explain why we were told they “may have changed their appearance” at one point — I have to agree timelines feel impossible, unless I’m missing something?

The vehicle was found 'Burning" on the 19th. "On Friday, Dease Lake RCMP attended a burning vehicle south of the Stikine River Bridge on Highway 37. Officers said a pickup truck was on fire, but that no one was in the vehicle. However a passing motorist told police that they saw what appeared to be a dead body at a nearby highway pullout."

 

[Optics]

I think AS was obsessed with his (bad) relationship with his ex and less concerned about his relationship with his son, as seen by his actions. He seemed to leave all the nurturing responsibility up to his ex-partner and take no responsibility for providing the same himself.

Yes, battles of the exes in front of a child for sure - and the question is how much "nurturing" did he receive from the custodial parent.

 

[SovereignSnake]

Are we sure that the haircuts couldn't have happened? I realise that the burnt truck/camper was found on Friday, July 19th, but it wasn't burning at the time. The fire and murder could have happened sooner, even a couple of days sooner, could it not?

We haven't been given a time of death for Mr. Dyck, have we? We also don't know when he started his drive back south.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but it doesn't seem that we can positively rule out the haircuts. I think that the person who did the beard cut would be able to remember their work. It's a rather unique cut for which there would be few requests.

This is possible but then I got to thinking what if the salon meant they were in on Sunday afternoon and not Friday. I get most of them are closed on Sundays and even Saturdays but if they went to one of the chain salons like "Great Clips" they're open seven days a week. Based on the surveillance footage Kam's beard doesn't look "trimmed" at all. But I agree, you would definitely remember cutting a guys beard especially if you're not a barber shop. Then again what if they went to the Co-Op realized they were on camera and then stopped off and got haircuts after. Entirely possible but the dates and times just make for such a long shot. Also, the Dodge and camper was found Friday morning as was Leonard's body (as I recall reading.) That doesn't rule out Kam and Bryer could have killed him, burned the truck and left say round the midnight to 3am hour. I feel like at that time traffic would have been nil so the chances of someone driving by and seeing it ablaze would have been almost zero. With Leonard's body and the proximity to the road, I just can't imagine he lay there very long before his body was spotted. That was a very small pull-out vs the size of the one where Kam and Bryer left the Dodge and camper.

 

[MistyWaters]

The vehicle was found 'Burning" on the 19th. "On Friday, Dease Lake RCMP attended a burning vehicle south of the Stikine River Bridge on Highway 37. Officers said a pickup truck was on fire, but that no one was in the vehicle. However a passing motorist told police that they saw what appeared to be a dead body at a nearby highway pullout."

This is the original press release from the RCMP.

2019-07-19 16:11 PDT
File # 2019-307
On July 19th 2019 the Dease Lake RCMP responded to a vehicle fire south of the Stikine River Bridge on Highway 37.

Upon arrival Dease Lake Frontline RCMP members located a pickup truck on fire, with no one located in the vehicle. At the time the vehicle fire was being investigated, a passing motorist advised the members at the still burning vehicle that they had just seen what they believed to be a body at a nearby Highway pullout.....”
RCMP in British Columbia - Vehicle fire near Dease Lake BC, leads to discovery of deceased male

 

[Optics]

It strikes me as how callous, dangerous and spiteful it was for them to have set two vehicles on fire in brush. The past couple of years especially in the northern parts of BC the forest fires have been huge. Everyone in the province and into Washington State was inundated with the abnormal amounts of smoke etc. - so to set a fire knowing the potential of a disastrous forest fire in both burning incidents is a hugely disrespectful thing to do in addition to the murders. These are the types of events in the whole situation that make me feel they had no conscience or remorse for anything they did.

 

[MistyWaters]

This is possible but then I got to thinking what if the salon meant they were in on Sunday afternoon and not Friday. I get most of them care closed on Sundays and even Saturdays but if they went to one of the chain salons like "Great Clips" they're open seven days a week. Based on the surveillance footage Kam's beard doesn't look "trimmed" at all. But I agree, you would definitely remember cutting a guys beard especially if you're not a barber shop. Then again what if they went to the Co-Op realized they were on camera and then stopped off and got haircuts after. Entirely possible but the dates and times just make for such a long shot. Also, the Dodge and camper was found early Friday morning as was Leonard's body. That doesn't mean it could not have killed him, burned the truck and left say round the midnight to 3am hour. I feel like at that time traffic would have been nil so the chances of someone driving by and seeing it ablaze would have been almost zero. With Leonard's body and the proximity to the road, I just can't imagine he laid there very long before his body was spotted. That was a very small pull-out vs the size of the one where Kam and Bryer left the Dodge and camper.

If they changed their appearance, how were they recognized in Split Lake on the Monday, both by the band constables and the person at the Split Lake gas station where they bought $20 worth of gas?

“She said nothing seemed odd about their visit, until she saw the RCMP's updated suspect photos on Tuesday. She recognized McLeod by his beard and Schmegelsky for the camouflaged shirt he was wearing....”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/b-c-homicide-suspects-manitoba-1.5222542

 

[Zella]

I don't think they did anything to change their appearance, and I don't believe the haircutting story is accurate. Bryer has the exact same haircut he has in every pic I've seen of him as a teenager. Kam does, too. The only noticeable difference with Kam is his beard is longer than usual, covering his neck. Dude doesn't look like anyone trimmed his beard a couple of days earlier or that it had recently been shaved into a goatee. He looks like he'd been trimming the cheek line but not that day because it's a little ragged-looking.

 

[musicaljoke]

This is possible but then I got to thinking what if the salon meant they were in on Sunday afternoon and not Friday. I get most of them care closed on Sundays and even Saturdays but if they went to one of the chain salons like "Great Clips" they're open seven days a week. Based on the surveillance footage Kam's beard doesn't look "trimmed" at all. But I agree, you would definitely remember cutting a guys beard especially if you're not a barber shop. Then again what if they went to the Co-Op realized they were on camera and then stopped off and got haircuts after. Entirely possible but the dates and times just make for such a long shot. Also, the Dodge and camper was found early Friday morning as was Leonard's body. That doesn't mean it could not have killed him, burned the truck and left say round the midnight to 3am hour. I feel like at that time traffic would have been nil so the chances of someone driving by and seeing it ablaze would have been almost zero. With Leonard's body and the proximity to the road, I just can't imagine he laid there very long before his body was spotted. That was a very small pull-out vs the size of the one where Kam and Bryer left the Dodge and camper.

Yes, the date for the haircut doesn't fit a very plausible timeline, but if a hairdresser had the suspect's face in her hands to trim his beard, she surely would be able to remember this for several days. Could it be that just the date was wrong?

I would think that most of the haircuts would be for repeat clients. A couple of young, tall male tourists would be noticed.

 

[MistyWaters]

It strikes me as how callous, dangerous and spiteful it was for them to have set two vehicles on fire in brush. The past couple of years especially in the northern parts of BC the forest fires have been huge. Everyone in the province and into Washington State was inundated with the abnormal amounts of smoke etc. - so to set a fire knowing the potential of a disastrous forest fire in both burning incidents is a hugely disrespectful thing to do in addition to the murders. These are the types of events in the whole situation that make me feel they had no conscience or remorse for anything they did.

Yes, everywhere outdoor fire safety is continually reinforced, from the dangers of tossing cigarettes out car windows to ensuring campfires are thoroughly doused. These two would have to total imbeciles to not know torching vehicles in forested areas has the huge potential of fuelling a forest fire, spreading into the surrounding grass, bush and trees.

The act of burning the vehicles was beyond attempting to destroy evidence IMO, it was intentionally to cause a forest fire in order to distract, create havoc, destroy the wilderness and put people in neighbouring communities at risk.